Vendee Globe - Record visitors to Race Village in Les Sables d’Olonne

The level of the Vendee Globe’s historic success continues to grow in Les Sables d’Olonne. In two weeks, no less than 575,000 visitors attended the Race Village and pontoons to see the 20 boats competing in the forthcoming non-stop round-the-world solo race without assistance. This is a fantastic accomplishment, especially considering the unexpected closure of the race village on November 1st due to gale force winds.

The Vendée Globe Village is definitely alive and kicking. Two weeks after the official opening by Vendée General Council President Bruno Retailleau, 575,000 visitors explored the Race Village and accessed the pontoons to look in awe at the twenty boats of the 2012-2013 edition. An incredible 230,000 visitors attended the opening week, despite the difficult decision that was made to close the race village for an entire day due to extreme weather (gale force winds). In light of the French half-term school holidays, there is no doubt the final week before the race start – on Saturday, November 10th at 1.02PM – will be exceptional…

The popularity of this seventh edition is obvious on the internet, too. The audience of the Vendée Globe official Website quadrupled between September and October, with over 302,000 single visitors and 2,191,000 pages viewed.

The race’s Facebook page now has more than 20,000 fans while 4,000 people are following the official Twitter account. As for the virtual race, two weeks after registration opened, 44,500 players have already signed in on virtualregatta.com.

Last but not least, the app for smartphones and tablets, which has been available for 48 hours only, has become the most downloaded sports app (free apps) on the Apple Store.

The Race Village opens from 10AM to 8PM until November 11 (free admission).

Extended opening hours (until 10PM): November 3 and 9. The Race Village will be exceptionally open from 8AM to 8PM on November 10 and from 10AM to 6PM on November 11.